


Crash Into Me

by PhoenixFire17



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/M, Mild Language, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4150539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixFire17/pseuds/PhoenixFire17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Iron Bull (emphasis on THE) met the Inquisitor many years ago when she was a young woman, long before the mage rebellion, the Conclave, or a massive hole in the sky that spits out demons. This meeting was also the first time he saved her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crash Into Me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is un-betad so all errors are mine.
> 
> I do not own any of the original characters, plot lines, or dialogue. I do not profit from this story. However please respect the fact that this is an original work and a result of long hours wrangling plot bunnies and epic battles with my arch-nemesis...grammar. Please do not re-purpose this story without my permission.

_Damn the fuckin' shite of a Carta!_

Kari Cadash kept up a constant stream of silent expletives. She was a surface dwarf from the Free Marches, not a damn snow wyvern. She hated the cold and those nug humpers had her traipsing through snow deeper than her waist looking for a sodding Templar Knight Commander. Kari just wanted to find the bastard, unload the lyrium, find a tavern that didn't smell like piss, and buy several rounds of good Chasind sack mead.

Garik, her second in command, caught her eye and motioned to her right. Following his gaze, Kari saw a group of Templars on the hill above them.

“About bloody time,” she mumbled.

Kari glared up at the humans as she began navigating the snow covered slope.

As the group made their way slowly up the hill, trying to keep their footing on the snow and ice covered ground, Kari felt her spine begin to tingle. After over a decade of training and fighting, she recognized the feeling for the warning it was. Subtly signaling her men, Kari palmed the daggers at her waist. The feel of them in her hands - the rough druffalo hide scratching lightly, the smoothness of the lightning rune chilled slightly by the wind, the perfect balance of the obsidian blades - served to calm her while simultaneously sparking her awareness. The surge of adrenaline in her system caused time to stop, presenting her the world in slow motion.

That's how Kari spotted the stealthed rogue before he could plunge his dagger into her abdomen. She parried the blow, twirled around to his flank, and felt as her blades sank into the rogue's kidney. Ripping dagger from flesh, Kari glared into the eyes of the Knight Commander, both challenging the other. She broke eye contact as she rejoined the fight, Carta dwarves versus Templar warriors. Though many met death at her hands, Kari began to realize that her band was far outnumbered and losing ground fast. Turning to Garik to sound the retreat, Kari cried out as her eyes caught him lying motionless upon the hill, body broken and blood stark against the pristine white. The sound of crunching snow behind her was the only warning. Looking up, she saw the flash of an armored fist before her world went black.

 ◎ ◎ ◎

 The Iron Bull sat quietly in the back corner of the tavern, letting the shadows hide his considerable bulk as he studied the patrons. His mercenary group had been hired to take down a sect of corrupt Templars based out of a small village in Emprise du Lion who had been terrorizing the townspeople. The Ben-Hassrath had discovered that the Templars were smuggling vast amounts of lyrium in from the Free Marches using a family inside the Carta. Not wanting rogue Templars roaming about any more than the Orlesians did, The Iron Bull had been encouraged to accept the contract. So, with The Bull’s Chargers in tow, he had set out for the cold air of the Dalish Highlands.

Iron Bull watched as a group of men entered the tavern and made their way to the bar. At first glance one would believe them merely city guards looking for rest and relaxation, but Iron Bull noticed the hard glint to their eyes and the way there fingers twitched towards their weapons at every sudden movement. These men were expecting trouble…and Bull wanted to know why.

Bull took a long swig from his tankard and felt a presence slide into the chair next to him. Looking down at his second in command, Bull motioned toward the group, who were now drinking hard and harassing the pretty elven waitress. Just as quietly as he sat down, Krem got up and started working his way through the crowd. Leaning over the bar, he caught the attention of the barkeep. Fresh pint in hand he settled on a stool a few seats down from the men, sipping periodically but listening intently. Bull signaled the other Chargers, trusting that they would be ready to move when the time came.

Hours later, the men finally began stumbling their way out of the bar, some of them needing to be half carried. When the last one had crossed the threshold, Krem downed the last of his drink and made his way back to Bull’s corner.

“Bloody fools gave me everything chief!” Krem exclaimed as he slid back into the seat at Bull’s side.

“Bastards are hold up at some keep in the hills. They got some lyrium through the Carta but attacked the caravan,” Krem looked down at the table and started tracing a knot in the wooden plank, “One of them was talking about a dwarf girl, apparently the bosses daughter, said she was the only one left standing.”

The tightness of Krem’s tone told Bull that the girl would have been better off dying alongside her men.

“Well then Kremscicle,” Bull chuckled when his lieutenant rolled his eyes at the nickname, “let’s give those piece-of-crap Templars a little visit.”

 ◎ ◎ ◎

 Kari woke to the metallic taste of blood on her tongue and the sound of drums. She lay still, letting the pounding in her head and a sudden rush of nausea abate before she began to take stock. Aside from the blow to the head, she had not sustained any injuries in the fight. She could hear the drip of water on stone and the sound of rats searching for food. That combined with the dank smell of moldy straw suggested a dungeon of some sort. If the Templars were keeping her prisoner, that must mean the Knight Captain needed her alive – _But what for_?

Slowly Kari cracked her eyes, wincing slightly at the light coming off torches on the wall. She was definitely in a cell, with iron bars and everything. She eased herself off the ground, careful to move slowly in case another bout of nausea hit. Kari looked down at herself and groaned. The Templars had not taken any chances, removing all of her gear and leaving her in naught but her small clothes - meaning that her hidden blade and spare lock pick would do her no good now.

_Okay Cadash, time to do this the hard way._

Smiling to herself, she pulled a pin from her hair and walked over to the cell door. After a few minutes of work, she heard the lock click and pushed the door open. A quick glance revealed an empty hall will more cells along both sides. Kari slipped out and began working her way quickly but quietly down the hall, thankful once more for her training as a rogue.

Kari worked her way through the dungeon, keeping to the shadows and letting their darkness hide her passage. She tried to find her gear, hoping to stumble upon a chest or storage room, but all she found was stone and iron. Eventually, Kari came to a staircase leading up (and hopefully out). Placing her ear to the wooden door, she tried to hear movement from the other side, but was met with silence. She pulled out her hairpin and went to work. Soon she had the door unlocked and pushed open, cringing when the hinges creaked. The door opened up to a large round chamber. There were doors along the edge and torches on the wall, but the room itself was empty.

With a pit resting low in her stomach and growing every second, Kari started toward the door closest to her on the right. One by one she opened each door, hoping to find either supplies or a way out. Every one opened to the same thing, emptiness. There were no people or furniture – not even cobwebs resided here. Kari knew something was wrong, the back of her neck tingled and her stomach curdled within her.

_I have to get out of this place!_

As Kari turned to search the rooms once more she heard a rumbling noise and the ground began to shake. Suddenly the tiles beneath her feet exploded and skeletons began to rise out of the fissure. The shambling corpses gained their footing and began moving toward Kari. Without a blade or bow, she was unsure how she was going to survive, but she was determined not to go down without a fight. With fists clenched Kari closed the distance between her and the nearest undead.

**Author's Note:**

> As always please comment, give kudos, bookmark, ANYTHING! I love to hear what ya'll think so don't be shy.
> 
> I am now taking requests, so if you like my style and you have any DA:I prompts, please let me know.


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